"Record Store Retablo No. 2" by Patrick Fitzgerald

2022
$2,580 USD SOLD
Dimensions
W: 23.5" D: 2.0" H: 17.75"
Materials
Paper
Paint
Mixed Materials
Collection #
CPF057
Estimated Shipping
$250

The intricate retablos by Chicago-based artist Patrick Fitzgerald are a means of paying homage to the musicians that have inspired him throughout his life. The retablos began as a way to process the simultaneous melancholy and fascination he experienced after the passing of an admired musical artist. As an art form derived from Mexican votive painting, the retablo is a fitting way to honor music and its musicians, the making of the sculpture in itself an act of devotion.

This particular work entitled "Record Store Retablo No. 2" is inspired by Fitzgerald's love of jazz and Egyptian pop from the 1970s. The retablo takes the form of a cluttered record store, an intimate environment layered with personal references and nostalgia. References to favorite artists such as Sun Ra, Baligh Hamdi, and Hany Mehanna are tucked within the scene, featured in a pile of imaginary records or in the colorful collage media papering the walls. The "Farfisa" logo in the top right references the Italian keyboard used in much of the music from these genres.

Bits of wiring and miscellaneous circuitry complement the miniature stereo equipment and add a touch of machinery, a level of detail characteristic of Fitzgerald's sculptures. A toggle switch on the back of the retablo illuminates three functional light bulbs placed within the scene. The starry night sky painted onto the border places the imaginary setting firmly into the surreal, a cozy, dimly lit alcove in the middle of the cosmos.

Mixed media, collage, electric lights, and oil paint on cardboard and wood.

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Patrick Fitzgerald

b. 1962, Grand Rapids, MI

Chicago artist Patrick Fitzgerald refers to his body of work as his “Neighborhood of Infinity,” a borrowed term used literally to describe the bounty of materials and creative inspiration he found in the industrial landscapes of his youth. For the last decade, Fitzgerald has been mining his early experiences, re-envisioning the mechanical world of his childhood through the eye of an artist.

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